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Sign the Petition to

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

Please take advantage of this historic opportunity to end overfishing of Atlantic bluefin tuna so these struggling populations can recover to a healthy level. Reduced levels of top predators have far-reaching consequences for many other animals, and Atlantic bluefin tuna play an important role in our ocean ecosystem as a large, highly migratory predator.

Many pelagic fish were spawning in the northern Gulf in the months before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill's containment, and crude oils are highly toxic to developing fish embryos. Deepwater oil and gas activities, climate change and fishing risk wiping out some of our most vulnerable ocean life and irreversibly compromising bluefin tuna's essential habitat.

I support increased monitoring of commercial fishing -- including electronic monitoring and expanded automated catch reporting to include discards from the fishermen targeting bluefin tuna (the general and harpoon categories). I request that the accuracy of this data be verified through required observer coverage in all commercial fishing sectors.

I also urge the National Marine Fisheries Service to adopt the proposed restriction of longlines in the Gulf of Mexico to protect reproducing bluefin tuna. The Service should expand this proposal to all bluefin tuna spawning areas in the Gulf of Mexico from March through May at a minimum -- but preferably for the entire spawning season, which spans February to June. It is especially important to protect the entire spawning season -- ocean warming may require bluefin tuna to spawn earlier. I also support the Cape Hatteras gear-restricted area to further reduce longline bycatch of bluefin tuna.

To augment these closures, I encourage the Service to implement a strict annual bluefin catch cap with an individual quota and increased observer coverage to ensure these measures are effective.

The Service must also consult the Endangered Species Act and essential fish habitat provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act when deciding.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I am hopeful that the Service will strengthen this rule as outlined above to ensure it will help stop the waste of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Signed,

Endangered Species Coalition

This petition closed about 1 year ago

How this will help

Atlantic bluefin tuna are incredible animals. They can streak across
the ocean at speeds up to 60 mph and can dive to depths of more than
1,000 meters. Despite this speed and agility, they're...

Atlantic bluefin tuna are incredible animals. They can streak across
the ocean at speeds up to 60 mph and can dive to depths of more than
1,000 meters. Despite this speed and agility, they're no match for
commercial fishing fleets.
Overfishing has brought populations of these ocean giants
precariously close to collapse. Recent studies have shown that the
Western stock of Atlantic bluefin has dropped by a whopping 82 percent
in just four decades.

In 2011 the U.S. identified bluefin tuna as a "species of concern."
While this was a step towards action, it fell short of protecting the
giant fish under the Endangered Species Act.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has a new proposal to begin to
address the bluefin collapse.

Unfortunately, the proposal falls short on
protections bluefin tuna need to make a comeback. Some critical
measures weren't included -- including protecting all spawning grounds
for the duration of the bluefin spawning season and independent
verification for all commercial fishing vessels.

There's still a chance to put these necessary regulations into place.
Please take action to urge the National Marine Fisheries Service to end
overfishing of bluefin tuna.